Photo Credit: Zack Hill
Since his induction (back in December of 2018) as the Philadelphia Flyers’ ninth general manager, Chuck Fletcher has done little to revitalize this once great franchise. Sure, he has managed to make some good moves like when he traded Jakub Voracek for Cam Atkinson (which also allotted Chuck $2,375,000 more in cap space) and when he talked Arizona into taking Shane Gostisbehere and his $4.5 million in salary off his hands for nothing more than future considerations, but overall, the fanbase (some three plus years later) is still being forced to accept mediocrity from their beloved club.
Along with the good there has been plenty of bad. For example, like that time Fletcher made the decision to trade away the Flyers’ promising 2012 second-round pick- the towering (6’6) New Jersey-born goaltender Anthony Stolarz for goaltender Cam Talbot back in February of 2019. Since that time, Stolarz has found a home in Anaheim playing for the Ducks where he has managed to solidify a role as John Gibson’s backup. Over three season and nineteen games played with the Ducks, Anthony has been able to post 3 shut outs while averaging a 2.15 goals-against-average which he has paired with a .930 save percentage.
Then, there was the decision back in April of 2019 to bring in Alain Vigneault to be the 21st head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. Alain was a proven winner in both New York and Vancouver who was thought to be the guy to finally right the ship. But, after whipping the team into shape during his first season where his team reached the 3rd round of the playoffs, both the team and the fan base quickly grew tired of his methods. This included constant line shuffling (which prevented his players from ever being able to create chemistry), his proven dislike of physicality, and his constant excuses (lack of practice time, injuries, and COVID- which were nothing that sixteen other coaches that were able to lead their team to a playoff berth did not have to overcome as well). Combined, this led to him not only losing his locker room, but he lost in the standings as well. Finally, after Vigneault and the Flyers had gone 13-14-0-6 (that averages out to a win percentage of just 0.485), Fletcher finally had enough.
But did Chuck’s decision to pull the plug on Vigneault come a day late and a dollar short? With rumors circling for weeks about Alain’s imminent departure, the Vancouver Canucks proved both wise/brave enough to strike first. The team’s President Jim Rutherford decided to clean house- firing not only their then-head coach Travis Green but his assistant Nolan Baumgartner, general manager (GM) Jim Benning, and assistant GM John Weisbrod as well. In doing this, Jim allowed himself first shot at acquiring the great head coach Bruce Boudreau to come and aid their failing franchise. This proved to be a wise move because, after inking Boudreau and making no other player/personal changes, Bruce has since come in and led his new team to a 7-0 run which tied the league’s all-time record for consecutive wins for a coach starting out with a new club. Since tying that record the Canucks, under Boudreau (who ironically had a cameo in the cult classic movie SLAPSHOT as player #7 for the Hyannisport Presidents), have sustained an unheard-of winning percentage of .944.
With the Flyers missing out on their chance to grab Boudreau and now seeming content to ride (at least) the rest of this season out with their interim head coach Mike Yeo (who was left over from the Vigneault era), let’s focus on the current state of the roster. This past off-season Fletcher made the decision to no longer sit on his hands as his team’s play continued to suffer and went out and made moves via both trades and free agent signings that reaffirmed his trust in Vigneault. In doing so it quickly became apparent that Fletcher had decided to build around one of Vigneault’s favorite players- Kevin Hayes, who Fletcher originally traded a 5th round pick for the then impending free agent back in June of 2019 in an effort to secure him before he hit the open market. He was able to do just that signing him to a 7-year 50-million-dollar contract that still carries a cap hit of $7.14 million for the next four seasons.
But if signing Hayes’ friends: a 35-year-old Keith Yandle, a 34-year-old Derick Brassard, and a 29-year-old Patrick Brown weren’t enough, Chuck decided to bring back a 37-year-old Nate Thompson as well. If you add to that Chuck’s decision to previously re-sign a now 34-year-old defenseman Justin Braun, Fletcher has managed to make this team older, slower, and inept. This is the polar opposite of the way the league has been trending the last couple decades with players getting younger, faster, and more prolific with each passing year.
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With all that being said, what perhaps may turn out to be the final nail in Fletcher’s coffin here in Philly is his decision to trade for defenseman Ryan Ellis who, before the trade even occurred, was known to have a history of being prone to injury. Only once during his now 11-year career in the NHL has he ever managed to play a full 82 game season. With Ellis being 31 years old most would be right to assume that his ability to stay healthy isn’t going to get any better over the course of the remaining five years of his contract. Regardless how good he was in his just four games played this season, it cannot make up for the hindrance that Ryan’s $6,250,000 cap hit will prove to be if his current health trend (or lack thereof) continues over the next few seasons.
With Philadelphia’s latest loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday January the fourth, it makes almost a month (Dec. 10th 4-3 win over the Las Vegas Golden Knights) since the team has been able to gather a win against a playoff-bound team. So, with all that was mentioned above, the question now becomes just how long will it be before ownership decides to move on from Chuck Fletcher?
Even a frustrating and fruitless hockey season is still a chance to enjoy the greatest game on earth. That being said Vigneault was the perfect antidote for what the organization had committed itself to under Hextall. Build from inside, bring young talent up through the system, hand them over to Vigneault …where he broke the cycle and managed to break their spirit and end their development. As a coach he seemed almost jealous of his own players at times. Any flash of flair was treated like an insult to him and his system. Guys who would step it up and get it done in a pinch always seemed to end up in the dog house. Some of these dynamic players are doing quite well on other teams now where they might feel a little more free to use their specific skill set. You can only play the cards in your hand. We are watching the end of a slow motion wreck. It was inevitable, there was a clash of two long term plans. Yes a system is needed, but I believe that your system is better built if it is based on what you have to work with and how to get the most out of the tools that you have. Currently and unfortunately the team seems like more patches than substance. None of this is a slight on Claude Giroux, he is what we have left to watch, stop talking about trading him for some more prospects that we can also break and enjoy the show.
Said it before and I’ll say it again. Nolan Patrick picked before Cale Makar. Who is holding the scouts accountable??
The scouts wanted Heiskanen or Makar. Hextall overruled them and selected Patrick. Same with the Sanheim draft. The scouts wanted Pastrnak. Hextall overruled them. There’s a pattern with Ron. If he has his heart set on a player, he does whatever he wants.
Very true. Player development as well.
Why does everyone think it’s the GM and coach, just remember Comcast is a business that is run by Dave Scott, CEO who has a bottom line to answer to! I believe it’s time to stop living in the past! Mr. Scott should open his eyes and realize this is a mediocre team that is losing fans and profits! I think the whole organization needs a major shakeup from top to bottom.
Add in the lack of any true scoring threat and poor drafts over the last 5 years and you have an absolute disaster of a team for many more seasons to come. This was the same M.O. Fletch had with the Wild that also failed (sign old vets to long contracts and poor drafts) and they are just starting to turn it around now 3 years after he left. He needs to go now so we can at least hope the next GM can try to turn this organization around.
I agree with your baic premise that Chuck Fletcher hasn’t done the greatest job. But you’re going to call Bruce Boudreau a great coach? Look at his playoff record. He has lost time and time again as a heavy favorite. You’re going to say trading Anthony Stolarz was a big mistake based on only 20 games played with Anaheim? You lose some credibility with those two statements
Boudreau is a great coach but for one reason. He can come into a crumbling franchise and make them persevere. He’s done it time and time again. He makes something out of nothing. He’s always going to be a short term option though because of the reasons you stated. The thing about Stolarz is not that he is some amazing player now it was the fact that the Chuck traded him away to early. With Anthony being a 2nd round pick and the Flyers riddled with goaltending woes for years it was another huge risk. Like when the team traded Bobrovsky. Stolarz is now no prize but he has settled into being a formidable backup. Something that the Flyers still don’t have.